Trying times for Oilers goalie.
Who can blame the def lated diehards for losing hope?
When the Edmonton Oilers opened the 2013-14 NHL season two centres down, with two goalies struggling to find their game and a rookie head coach wishing he’d never heard of the swarm defence, let alone try to install it, GM Craig MacTavish termed the 4-15-2 cannonball that ensued a “perfect storm.”
Can a perfect storm strike the same organization twice at the start of consecutive seasons? And, if so, is it rational or delusional to characterize that team’s onice ineptitude as something like an act of God?
During the pre-season rookie camp, MacTavish, in an interview with TSN’s Bob McKenzie, termed 201314 a “debacle,” a descriptor the GM has marshalled and sent into battle to witty effect in the past, when he coached the Oilers.
But the belly flop the Oilers have executed through four losses this season (a shootout loss gave them the aptly named loser’s point) is just sad this go-round.
The deficiencies are obvious and glaring — unsatisfactory goaltending, atrocious defensive-zone coverage, turnovers up and down the ice, on and on.
It’s safe to say that, over the years, the remedies — changing the coach, recruiting new personnel, installing surefire defensive systems, spiffing up the locker-room — have not taken, plain and simple. So, the cycle of ineptitude spins on, with no quick fix evident, to say the least.
For a while, the nightly onice train wreck can make for compelling, even comical viewing, in a dark sort of way. But that window has closed, or is fast closing for a lot of fans.
Here’s a cri de coeur from one such fan, a 35-year-old elementary school teacher from Drayton Valley named Jeff Crawford, who is a fan, but not a season-ticket holder, for the record.
Edmonton-born, Jasper-raised, Crawford grew up cheering for the iconic 1980s Oilers. He has been a true believer ever since.
Until now, that is, and it’s hard to fault him. Here’s one fan’s notes on the Oilers current plight. Dear Oilers,
I’ve always been a positive fan. At the start of each season, I’ve proudly debated with anyone and everyone that the Oilers made some solid moves to address glaring holes in their lineup. I’ve supported the general manager, whether it was (Kevin) Lowe, (Steve) Tambellini or (Craig) MacTavish. I’ve supported the coaches, from MacTavish to (Pat) Quinn to (Tom) Renney to (Ralph) Krueger to (Dallas) Eakins.
I’ve thrown out numbers and stats, and defied anyone to prove me wrong. Well, I was wrong. I’m an Oilers fan. For 30 years I’ve proudly supported the team, and they will always be my team. But enough is enough. For those of us who have stuck through all the tough times, who have cheered, bled and cried (the latter more often than not in recent years) blue and orange. And, like so many others who can tell you the same story, I can’t keep doing it.
Each year, everyone from the fans to the media to the hockey pundits points out the obvious holes in this team. Each year, management responds with plugs and duct tape. Each year, it falls miserably short of any sign for hope.
It’s time to make a change.
By the very definition of insanity, it’s crazy to keep doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results.
The goaltending is subpar. Our defence either won’t or can’t read plays. The amount of open slot goals the team allows is simply ludicrous by any professional standard for a league at this level. A big part of that is because we have nobody teaching the young players the game.
I have two worries. The first is that the young stars, like Taylor Hall, are going to ask for a trade. They won’t take this losing forever. My second worry is that we are destroying these stars by not giving them proper leaders to teach them. When a potential stud like Darnell Nurse is preparing to take over our blue line, and the only players we have to show him the way are broken defencemen or players who refuse to compete, why should we expect him to excel?
It doesn’t matter how good a student is, without a good, capable teacher, the potential will never be fully realized.
This once proud franchise is being destroyed. Brick by brick, fan by fan, you’re losing what faith we had. I’ll never throw a jersey on the ice; that’s just pathetic. But almost as bad is feeling embarrassed every time I wear a jersey to work, or out in public. Once, my jerseys were a source of pride. Now they’re proving to be a source of humiliation.
In 30 years, I’m finally ready to say what I never thought I would: Edmonton Oilers, you’re losing me. Sincerely, Jeff Crawford A fan with nothing more to give.
Fan frustration expresses itself in a variety of ways. On Wednesday night, as the Oilers were losing 7-4 to the Arizona Coyotes, the Twitterverse was crackling with suggestions: fire goalie coach Frederic Chabot; strip Andrew Ference of the captaincy and glue the “C” on Taylor Hall’s jersey; deliver the pink slip to Dallas Eakins and replace the head coach with Dan Bylsma.
Why any fan would have much confidence in any remedy applied by the Oilers hockey operations department at this point is over my head.
My sense is there may be a sizable segment of the fan base who are concluding, like Jeff Crawford, that the emotional investment, let alone the financial one, is simply not worth it anymore. That enough is enough.